


Glasses Work Only Under the Right Conditions

by nanialbee9



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Inspired by a comic, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanialbee9/pseuds/nanialbee9
Summary: Lena gets frustrated with Supergirl and a moment of pettiness leads her to figure out the hero's secret identity.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 54
Kudos: 610





	Glasses Work Only Under the Right Conditions

**Author's Note:**

> No angst in this house. Just a fluffy, hopefully funny, one-shot inspired by a hilarious comic I just saw on Tumblr. Also, this is based early on. Mostly to avoid all the complications of excessive drama and conflict.

Lena Luthor does not do petty. She's too poised and smart for that. She likes to think that, despite their differences and clashes, she's the Luthor that managed to live in the same city as a Super and be amicable. They've worked together to save the world, even. But the truth of the matter is that Supergirl can get on her nerves. Like, seriously on her nerves. Lena understands that the Kryptonian is the representation of everything good and moral. She gets that, truly. But you see, when time is dire and you are pressured to save humanity, sometimes you have to twist the morals a tad, ok?

So her occasional clashes with the Girl of Steel sometimes leave her frustrated. They do make a good team. Really, they do. Lena has been pleasantly surprised to realize Supergirl is just as bright as she's kind and strong. Which, it's unfair, actually. But, it's just that sometimes Lena loses her mind trying to get Supergirl to understand about the twisted morals and the urgency and that humanity is not anywhere nearly as invulnerable as the alien is herself. Oh, but no. Supergirl really, truly believes that there's always a better way, there's always hope and that the end does not justify the means. Which is lovely and all, but unnervingly naive.

And here Lena is the morning after the latest of her team-ups with the local Super and still reeling over some silly argument. Lena doesn't understand why her riffs with Supergirl affect her so. But here she is. She mumbles angrily through her morning routine and breakfast and is still at it when she starts going over the newest edition of the Tribune. Her mood lightens at reading Kara's name on a byline, it tumbles a bit when she realizes the story is about Supergirl's latest world-saving. She still stops on it to read, though.

She shouldn't be surprised to see that Kara mentions her and her role in saving the day aiding Supergirl. But she _is_ because even though Kara's support is unrelenting, Lena still finds it hard to believe she has it in her life. _Thank you, Luthors for a lifetime of emotional abuse_. There are some pictures of the mission in the article that Lena has trouble understanding how Kara's got them. There are not many, enough to not draw attention to it. Most people wouldn't even stop to think about it. But Lena is not most people. But the prominent one, the image of the article is a stock, heroic yet generic image of Supergirl with her sunny smile and her hero pose. No doubt Snapper's doing.

When Lena finishes reading the article for the second time, the tiny smile on her face -one of pride for her best friend's work, one of joy for Kara's undying faith in her- turns into a scowl when she lingers on Supergirl's hero picture. Again, Lena is not petty. She's a world-class CEO, a genius, she eats rich, powerful men for breakfast. And yet, here she is, drawing silly things on the hero's self-righteous face. She laments that Supergirl's smile is not showing any teeth, she was automatically looking for them to start painting them black. So she does the next best thing, she draws some nerdy, thick-rimmed, glasses on her gorgeous face... "Not looking so glorious anymore, are we?" Lena is not proud of this moment. She's really not. It's petty and childish and... is... Is that _Kara_? Lena blinks so much and so hard that she gets a little dizzy because she must have been drugged or poisoned, surely. There is no other explanation as to why she's imagining that Supergirl with glasses looks exactly like her beloved Kara. That makes no sense, right? But it does, because she can see it with her eyes!

"Oh, you little..." And, like in a movie, Lena's mind starts to bring forward all the endearingly dorky, albeit weird, things Kara has done and said since Lena's known her, and... "You little shit!" It's weird, that sensation when you're caught off guard, completely surprised, and feel this rare combination of outrage and amusement. Lena has a disbelieving smile trying to tug at her lips that she's fighting off and mostly failing.

"I can't believe her! Wait, is she writing about her heroics?" Now Lena does laugh. "Oh, yeah, that's so ethical, you dork!" Lena might be a little hysterical at the moment. But Does Kara seriously think she's going to get away with this? "Oh, no you don't!" And like that, Lena's finishing getting ready for her day and grabbing her car keys, while dialing Jess.

" _Miss Luthor?_ "

"Good morning Jess. I'm going to need you to cancel whatever I have scheduled for today. I'm not sure when I'm going to be at the office."

" _Of course, Miss Luthor. Is everything all right?_ "

"Yes, no need to worry. Something came up that I need to address immediately." And with a farewell, she hangs up and does the driving in a luxury car version of stomping to her destination. It's early so she has no doubt she'll catch her pray in time. But still. When she gets to Kara's apartment she lingers a couple of minutes in front of the door. To collect herself. But the door opens to reveal a very surprised Kara, still in pajamas, hair tussled, and no one should look that pretty in such state. Really. _Oh, did she used her superhearing just now? How did she know I was here?_

"Lena? What... Are you ok? What's..." Lena snaps out of the alien spell and straightens.

"May I come in?" Kara's brows furrow further and her crinkle is even more noticeable. An adorable trait marked by the tiny scar she has above her eyebrow, one that now Lena figures must have happened on Krypton because there's nothing on Earth that can mark Kara's skin like that.

"Of course. Is something wrong? Your heart racing!" Kara lets her in, despite her confusion, and now concern. Lena hates that it melts her heart so easily.

"No. Nothing's wrong." Lena shrugs off her coat and purse and sits them on the kitchen counter. Takes a deep breath and turns a searching eye to inspect the quaint apartment with a new perspective. Until she finally settles back on Kara who's still looking confused... and gorgeous.

"What's going on?" Ok, so Lena had no way of knowing that sleepy Kara would be her weakness. She softens a bit. But not enough to let her off the hook.

"Are you Supergirl?" Kara's eyes widen comically and her sleepy expression is so suddenly gone, that in any other circumstance it would be funny. But then she looks at Lena's face for some time, and her shoulders sag. She doesn't lose eye contact, though.

"Yes... Yes, I am Supergirl." And Lena should not feel like this is an unexpected revelation. She knew before Kara confirmed it, but hearing her say it and watching her say it. It's just not the same as drawing petty glasses on Supergirl's photo. Kara's a little tense like she's dreading for a confrontation.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lena has to know, She needs to know that her relationship with Kara was not all a lie. That she was not used, again. That her last name has nothing to do with it because Kara has never used that against her.

"I was going to. I... Lena, you have to understand this is not something I can just tell people. I know, you're not just somebody. But, it's dangerous. Not just for me and you, but for my family. It's my secret but it affects more than just me. And... Well, I kind of liked being just Kara to you. It changes things when people know, it changes things. I didn't want it to change us." Kara takes a small, tentative step closer, but stops, to see how Lena is taking it all. In the back of her mind, Lena's figuring out that this is something Kara is not expecting a good result out of. But that's in the back of her mind. In the front?

"Is it... Was it because of my name?" Kara does a gesture like she's fighting the urge to get to Lena and hug her.

"No! No, Lena, I swear. It has nothing to do with that. I trust you with my life."

"Just not with your super-secret identity." It's not said with bite, but Kara sighs like it is.

"I was 12 when my world died and I was sent here, to protect Kal-El. I was trapped in the Phan... in a place in space where time is suspended, for 24 years. So when I finally got to Earth Kal was already a grown man and already a hero. So, he thought keeping me would have been dangerous and he contacted the Danvers. Eliza and Jeremiah helped him when he was younger, to handle his powers. He figured they were the best next people to take care of me. And they were. But the one thing that everyone kept telling me was to keep my powers, my alien identity a secret. About the risks of people knowing about it. I was so young and so hurt and so angry. I know, intellectually, that Krypton's destruction has been years ago by then, but to _me_ , it was still so fresh."

Kara's voice cracks despite her smile. She takes a couple of breaths and a moment to continue. Lena sits at the breakfast counter and is attentively listening to Kara's story. Elated and aching at the same time.

"I think I didn't understand the warning at first. Alex, too. We were kids and we were just starting to bond. She asked me about flying, she was always asking me about my powers and how they felt. She was restless to test them. Ever the scientist." The first genuine, fond smile graces Kara's face and warms Lena's heart. "I was still learning the language and the culture, so it was harder for me to explain the feeling to her. I think it's still hard to explain. So we figured I could just show her."

"Oh, no." It escapes Lena because she can guess where this is going. Kara smiles at that.

"Yeah. We were caught. Jeremiah agreed to work with them if they left me alone. That was the thing that made it real, you know? Since then I'm very serious about not telling."

"But, they all know. Right? James, Winn? You told them?"

"No. I mean, I did tell Winn. I had just saved the plane. Alex was on it, I couldn't let it fall, Lena. I could not let Alex go down with that plane." Kara seems desperate like she needs Lena to understand why she did it. Like she's still scared that it was the wrong move. So Lena nods and taps the counter, an invitation for Kara to sit, to get closer. It works. "Anyway, I was just so excited! The feeling of flying again, of helping, of saving Alex. But she was mad, Alex. Boy! Was she upset with me. I know she was not angry but scared. Because she knew that'd put me in the DEO's radar again. Winn had been my friend for years and I just needed to talk to someone about it. You know? So I told him."

"Not James?"

"No, that was Kal. James knew before I even met him." It downs on Lena, maybe it's because of the tint of Kara's voice when she says this, but Lena realizes that maybe Kara has been robbed enough times of her own secret.

"You just told Winn?" Lena frowns because she has figured that all their group must know.

"And Lucy." Kara nods in confirmation, but then stills and her eyes widen a little, she tenses again. "But, it was to save Alex and J'onn! I promise. They were being shipped to CADMUS, and Lucy was now in charge of the DEO, she was the best option. I mean, I could, of course, I could have done it by myself. But I figured with her help the collateral damage was going to be minimum!"

"Kara, I understand." Lena takes Kara's hand and squeezes, hopefully calming her down. "But what about the rest, don't they know?"

"Yeah. But I just told the two! The rest was either told by someone else or... or they figured it out for themselves. Like you." Kara says this last part with a mix of a resigned sigh and a proud smile. And now Lena allows a smirk to show.

"Well, darling, a pair of glasses and a hairdo is not really the best disguise." But Lena frowns a bit because, well, it is a disguise all right, she was fooled by it, wasn't she?

"Is not... It is not really meant as a disguise. The glasses, they are lead-lined, they help me with dull my powers. Jeremiah made them for me when I first got here to aid in handling my powers. They can get overwhelming." Kara has a sad little smile on, but one that's full of love, too. "It wasn't meant to be a disguise. But I learned that people would never associate a no one, dork like Kara Danvers with Supergirl. It works, because people will see what they want to see."

"It's effective for people who won't interact constantly with both of you." Lena figures. And Kara smiles.

"Exactly!"

They share a long, smiley, look. And then Kara turns serious again.

"I really wanted to tell you. I was planing on it, too. But it's complicated." Lena knows Kara is being sincere. The sting lessens and her love for this woman just grows, until...

"So why are you such a pain in my ass when you're Supergirl?" Dumbfounded, Kara blinks a couple of times. Like she was just aggressively awakened from a dream and doesn't know what's going on.

"What?"

"Oh, don't play innocent. You are so self-righteous when we work together while you're wearing the cape. Like you have the higher moral ground? You? You write about yourself in the paper!"

"What... Hey, I'm not self-righteous!" It's funny to see Kara sway between confused and offended. But Lena scoffs, which fuels Kara on, "I am not! What about you? Have you not notice you react defensively to everything Supergirl says? Huh?" Wait, what?

"What?" Kara is nodding, and she has that coky air about her. The Supergirl one.

"Uhu. You do. I would say the same things to you as Kara, I have in fact done so, and you never lash out at me like that. Just when I'm Supergirl!"

"No! What?" Lena's mind is in overdrive. Does she? Has she done that? Oh! Oh, maybe she had. And Kara can see Lena's shift and knows she's won. And yet... Listen, Lena's not petty, ok? She's not. But, god, Kara can be so... "Well, maybe that's because you act like an entitled child!"

And Kara burst out laughing, head tilted back and everything. And Lena's lips twitch upwards. She loves Kara so much, _I love you_ , she thinks. But then everything stills and Kara's eyes are the biggest she's ever seen them and they both freeze because she did not think that, she said it out loud? Oh, no... Then Kara's face transforms into the sun. Her smile could power a small country, her eyes shine. Lena can see all of Kara's teeth, and somehow she thinks back on the picture where she had no teeth to vandalize and that led her to draw stupid glasses on Supergirl and here she is.

"You love me?" It must hurt, that smile. It's, too big. "I do, too!" A second passes, two... Kara frowns a bit. "No, wait. I love _you_ , too! I don't love myself... I do, I love myself. But I meant that I love you, too. I'm also in love with you..." Lena surges forward because she needs Kara to stop rambling and kiss her. So she kisses Kara instead.

"Shut up!" She mumbles against Kara's lips and goes in for another kiss. Now she can feel Kara respond with eager enthusiasm and she can also feel Kara smile against her own mouth. And it's perfect.

It's perfect until the door to Kara's apartment opens and they hear Alex call out before they can jump apart and then Alex is groaning about NDAs and paperwork on her day off and there's Maggie, too. They bring lots of bags with what must be breakfast with them.

"Yeah! Go little Danvers! You owe me 20, babe!" Her glee is palpable, and Alex redoubles on her groaning.

"Dammit, Kara!" Alex's trying to look annoyed, but even Lena can tell she's happy to see her little sister this happy. She's the only one trying to suppress a smile, though. Maggie is now grinning while wiggling her eyebrows ridiculously in Lena's direction. Kara is still smiling but focusing on her sister, maybe making sure Alex approves.

She does. It's great. And then Kara seems to think of something. And _dammit, Kara_ , indeed.

"Wait, how did you figured out I'm Supergirl?" And that has Lena turning an embarrassing shade of red and hastily getting up.

"I'm late for work." She swiftly pecks Kara on the lips, tries to smile at the other two and sprints to the door. She can hear Kara calling out to her She can hear Alex confused mumbling. But, mostly, she can hear Maggie's _I bet she had a wet dream..._ She can even picture Kara's crinkle when she asks _What's a wet dream?_ And then Alex groaning magnifies.

Lena's still red in the face when she gets to her office, and now she has to deal with the idea that Jess suspects she was having sex before starting her office hours if her assistant well-kept expression is anything to go by. Great.

None of that dampens her mood, though. Especially not after Kara sends her a string of messages, full of emojis:

" _Hey! Lunch? I love you! You don't have to tell me how you figured out... Though I'm not gonna lie, I really want to know. Super curious... Ha! But you don't have to. Would YOU tell me what a wet dream is? I'm scared to google it after Nia's made a face when I asked her_."

The damn article ends up on a frame, doodled an everything. It's at Kara's because Lena thought it'd be a risk to have it in her office or apartment, for fear of someone like her mother figuring out... Turns out her mother knows! But, *sigh*, whatever. Lena's too happy to let that get to her.

**Author's Note:**

> [This comic was the inspiration](https://thelostlegaycy.tumblr.com/post/189720272958/lindatart-batman-is-the-greatest-detective-that)


End file.
